A Photo About Donald Trump’s ‘Second Inauguration’ Is Going Viral, But It’s Fake
American Tower Partners With Allianz In Europe – Quick Facts
American Tower Corp. (AMT) and German insurer Allianz SE (AZSEY.PK) announced Wednesday that Allianz Capital Partners, on behalf of Allianz insurance companies and the Allianz European Infrastructure Fund, will acquire a 10% stake in ATC Europe, joining CDPQ in a long-term strategic partnership with American Tower.
The transaction is valued at over 530 million euros, reinforcing a more than 8.8 billion euro enterprise value for ATC Europe. American Tower will retain managerial and operational control, as well as day-to-day oversight of ATC Europe, while Allianz will obtain seats on ATC Europe’s Board of Directors, along with certain governance rights.
US President Biden meets Russian leader Putin in Geneva for summit
GENEVA (REUTERS) – US President Joe Biden shook hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (June 16) in Geneva ahead of a summit, Reuters TV footage showed.
Biden and Putin shook hands and then entered the villa where the summit is due to take place after appearing at the entrance festooned with US, Swiss, Russian flags following welcoming remarks by Swiss President Guy Parmelin.
This story is developing.
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China releasing metals stockpiles in bid to cool inflation
BEIJING — The Chinese government said Wednesday that it will release copper, aluminum and zinc from stockpiles to increase market supplies in a fresh effort to restrain surging prices that officials warn might disrupt a business revival.
Wednesday’s announcement comes after inflation in prices of industrial raw materials surged to a 13-year high of 9% over a year earlier in May. The move by the State Bureau of Grain and Material Reserves was reported by state TV, which gave no details of when or how much would be released.
Cabinet officials have warned the price surge will hurt smaller and private companies that haven’t fully recovered from last year’s plunge in activity due to anti-coronavirus controls.
The price surge is “creating headwinds for corporates and will likely squeeze profitability in downstream industries and dampen corporate investment,” said Tommy Wu of Oxford Economics in a report.
Progressive Corp. May Profit Down 7% – Quick Facts
Insurer Progressive Corp. (PGR) reported that May net income declined 7 percent to $341.1 million or $0.58 per share from $366.9 million or $0.62 per share in the prior-year month.
Meanwhile, net premiums written for the month grew 7 percent to $3.40 billion from $3.17 billion last year. Net premiums earned also increased 13 percent to $3.39 billion from last year’s $2.99 billion.
India's exports up 46% to $14 billion during June 1-14
Imports too rose by 98.33% to $19.59 billion during the period
India’s exports rose by 46.43% to $14.06 billion during June 1-14 on account of healthy growth in shipments in sectors such as engineering, gems and jewellery and petroleum products, according to preliminary data of the commerce ministry.
Imports too rose by 98.33% to $19.59 billion during the period, the data showed.
Exports of sectors such as engineering, gems and jewellery and petroleum products are recording healthy growth rates.
The exports grew by 52.39% to $7.71 billion during the first week of this month and by about 40% to $6.35 billion during the second week of this month, according to the data.
Exports during April-May this fiscal year jumped to $62.89 billion, as against $29.41 billion in the same period last year.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Hikes Menu Prices To Cover Wage Increases
Fast-casual food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) is raising its menu prices to cover the cost of higher wages.
The restaurant chain said it plans to hike menu prices by about 4% to cover the cost of raising its workers’ wages.
Last month, Chipotle announced that it would increase worker pay to an average of $15 an hour by the end of June. Chipotle also introduced a $200 employee referral bonus for crew members and a $750 referral bonus for Apprentices or General Managers.
The company also said it is looking to hire 20,000 employees across the U.S. with starting wage ranges from $11 to $18 per hour to support current peak season demand and the estimated addition of 200 restaurants this year.
The company’s price hikes come at a time when prices for food are rising globally, and at the same time restaurants are finding it difficult to keep staff. Several chains like Chipotle, Starbucks, McDonalds have raised hourly wages for employees of company-owned locations inorder to to attract new workers and retain their current ones.
McDonald’s last month said it that it would raise its wages for workers at its company-owned stores, while Darden Restaurants (DRI), which owns Olive Garden, also announced that it would hike wages.
In May, the leisure and hospitality industries added 292,000 jobs, however, employment in those fields is still down by 2.5 million compared with pre-pandemic levels, according to the Department of Labor.
A Photo About Donald Trump’s ‘Second Inauguration’ Is Going Viral, But It’s Fake
That photo of what appears to be $1,200 tickets to former President Donald Trump’s second inauguration ceremony at the White House on Aug. 15?
Yes, it’s totally fake.
The image has been circulating on social media all week, but it’s been debunked by multiple fact-checking sites, including Snopes:
According to the bogus ticket, the celebration of the twice-impeached president’s return to the Oval Office will feature musical performances by pro-Trump rockers Ted Nugent and Kid Rock.
But as myth debunkers at Snopes, Verify and The Dispatch discovered, the picture is actually just an edited version of a stock image that’s for sale on the stock photography website 123rf.com. Also, neither musician has the date for the fake event listed on his website. Nor does the website for the U.S. Capitol, where the ceremony is supposedly advertised to take place outside.
Snopes suggested the picture was first posted on the message board 4chan “as a joke to mock the idea that Trump would soon be reinstated to the presidency.”
While the ticket and the event it promotes are clearly fictitious, the wild idea of Trump’s imminent reinstatement has gained ground among QAnon conspiracy theory followers ― and reportedly the ex-president himself, even though there’s no constitutional way it could happen.
Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden despite the former’s continued unfounded allegations of mass voter fraud.
